The Risks of Prescription Drugs book recommendation

General Discussion
#1

The Risks of Prescription Drugs
by Donald White (Editor)

I read this book recently and I think it is worth reading. I wish I could have read this book long ago. It is about how prescription drugs are researched, marketed, regulated, prescribed, and used. It talks about how public health and private profit are often at odds. It has many citations to studies and other references.

The first chapter has a section on Vioxx sold by Merck which caused 88,000 to 130,000 heart attacks or strokes. For example Merck published ads and materials attesting to the safety of Vioxx as the New York Times published a front page article on the risks on 2001.

I feel like I’m not doing a good job summarizing the book. But I wanted to draw attention to it on this forum for those that may be interested in reading it. It may help inform which prescription drugs you choose to take or not take in the future.

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#2

Yes, there are other good ones along the same lines.

The situation is that most of us had good lives, encountering no major problems in any domain, until these drugs. So, we don’t anticipate how bad things can suddenly be.

Many users are in the younger age spectrum, with no exposure to sudden catastrophe.

This means we are more likely to be caught out, and also less prepared to deal with the mess afterwards.

Of course, it is not our fault - the risks were not apparent.

For me, I am now extremely cautious on regulators of all kinds, drugs, “academic research”, “clinical trials”, doctors, and authorities across many domains.

It doesn’t mean that I reject everything - just use caution.

I don’t blame myself for using Accutane - there was nothing on the odds of disaster, and there were no warnings about lasting side effects, and no warnings of libido loss or sexual dysfunction.

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